


Quiet and Close

by xevinx



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: (gotta do my bit for the tag), Fluff, M/M, Paul is on a shroom high and very in love with his dear doctor, just fluff, that’s it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 10:35:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12579812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xevinx/pseuds/xevinx
Summary: Just a little bedroom fluff set after 1x05





	Quiet and Close

"Lights out."

They settled under the covers, tired bodies fitting together like puzzle pieces. A few moments passed in comfortable silence, or a few minutes perhaps. Time seemed not to matter when they were in each other’s arms.

"I’m sorry," Paul finally whispered into the surrounding darkness, tucking his head further into the safe warmth of his Hugh’s chest.

"Good. But you apologised enough in medbay. I’m just relieved you’re okay." Hugh pulled his head away a touch to look closely at Paul, _again._ "You are o–"

 _"I am,"_ stressed Paul, before pressing a chaste little kiss to the other’s collarbone. "But... I had to do it, Hugh."

Culber chose not to argue against that. One thing you had to do around Lieutenant Paul Stamets was pick your battles; he knew that from a wealth of experience with the same.

"You were really thinking about me?" Hugh asked instead, his voice low and tone measured. "In the middle of everything?"

For his part, Hugh had always held their relationship above everything else, but he also understood Paul’s unwavering dedication to his work — and would never have tried to change that. In fact, it was one of the reasons he admired him so deeply. He loved Stamets exactly the way he was. A little rough around the edges, granted, sometimes narrow-sighted but genuinely the most fascinating, incredible man he’d ever met.

"Of course I was thinking about you." Paul’s words lingered in the air with only the quiet, ambient hum of the ship’s workings to accompany them. Meanwhile, he gathered the courage to say what he felt inside. No flowery confounding language, no burying his heartfelt words in a poor attempt at a joke as he so often did. "You come first."

"I do?" Hugh whispered, the slight shakiness in his voice betraying the profound emotion he found himself under the influence of, ever the romantic in the couple — even though Paul was currently giving him some competition. "I’m not sure that’s Starfleet regulation," he countered.

"Well, sometimes you have to break the rules. After all, I defied captain’s orders today." Paul snickered that rare and ridiculous cackle-laugh that never failed to bring a smile to his other half’s face, before adding "I guess I’m a total _bad boy,_ huh? All cool and rebellious."

"Shut up, _please."_ Hugh shook his head in exasperation but couldn’t hide his amusement. “What you are is an idiot.”

_The smartest person I know, by a mile, but still a total idiot._

"But I’m _your_ idiot, dear Doctor..." A hand crawled up Hugh’s chest to rest on his cheek, and for the first time all day, Hugh allowed himself to laugh.

Paul had long since learned that calling him an idiot was Hugh’s way of saying _‘you did a dumb thing, but I still love you.’_

Hugh always loved him. Above all the fantastical phenomena and oddities of nature that Paul had encountered, the awkward, insecure mushroom-obsessed nerd inside of him would always remain in awe of that. Hugh really loved him.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments (and kudos) are greatly appreciated!
> 
> come yell at me about the space boos on tumblr @xevinx


End file.
